


Welcome To The Hollow

by Will_I_Ever_Make_A_Sound



Category: The Hollow (Cartoon), The Hollow (Netflix)
Genre: AU, Dark™, Gen, Grungy™, I pretty much just kept the setting from episode one because I loved that episode so much, Pretty much how the Hollow would go if I wrote it as a teen show, RL backstories!!!, This is… nothing close to canon, but keep the Good Ol Sci Fi as well, it's so small I had to contribute, no but really it is, this fandom needs more fics, we go down the “government experimentation/odd fantastical creatures/paranormal fantasy” route
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2019-05-29 22:07:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15082730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Will_I_Ever_Make_A_Sound/pseuds/Will_I_Ever_Make_A_Sound
Summary: Three teens, known only by the names “Adam”, “Mira” and “Kai”, decide to sign up to test the in-progress, totally immersive new video game called “The Hollow” to escape their lives. They each have their reasons. Adam is an immigrant whose mother illegally entered the US, and even though he has a strong sense of justice, he’s mercilessly teased and bullied at the government sponsored school he attends. Mira is the child of conservative parents, who force her to attend a catholic school and fit into the stereotypes, even though there's nothing this queer punk girl wouldn't do to escape that. And Kai? Kai just wants to escape his past, no matter what it takes.The Hollow gives them the chance to start over. And with a new life full of government conspiracies, paranormal abilities, and odd fantastical creatures that shouldn't possibly exist, it's all they could have asked for. But when the game malfunctions and wipes their memories before starting the collapse of the game itself, it's soon a situation of life or death. Was it worth it?See for yourself.Welcome To The Hollow.(Basically, a teen rewriting of The Hollow with a crap ton of artistic license)





	1. Abandoned In The White (Adam)

_I had been here before._  
That was the first thought I had when I woke up in a white concrete room, splayed across the floor like a long abandoned corpse. I felt weak, aching, like my brain had been put in a blender before being returned to my skull and my organs had gone through a meat grinder before being shoved back into my body.   
I sat up, stifling the immediate gasp of pain, and pressed my hands against the cold concrete floor to support myself. I was burning with heat, trembling and exhausted. I pushed myself against the wall, gritting my teeth at the effort it took.   
I was surrounded by white brick walls, a uniformity that triggered a warning in my brain. This wasn't right. This shouldn't be.   
There was a bed to my left, barely more than a cot covered in paper with a thin sheet over it. From my vantage point on the ground, I could see that the bed was chained and bolted to the ground. There was small table and chair across from the bed, both of which also fastened to the floor. Sitting on the table, I could see a styrofoam tray, and the smell of baked beans and something vaguely sweet wafted over to me. I eagerly pulled myself up, then hastily braced myself against the wall when the floor seemed to slide under my feet. After my head adjusted, I made my way to the table, hobbling with barely disguised eagerness. When I finally toppled into the chair, I fell upon the meal like a wolf; Baked beans, a stale dinner roll, and a slightly over ripe apple were devoured within seconds.   
I immediately felt sick.   
Pushing the tray across the table, a thin piece of paper fluttered to the ground. There was only one word on it, written hastily with pencil:   
_Adam_  
I looked at it for a few seconds. Adam. Was that my name? I tried to remember if anyone had called me Adam before, then came to the startling realization that I remembered nothing.   
I cast another glance around the room.   
It looked like I'd been abandoned in a mad scientist's lab, the remains of a failed experiment doomed to live the rest of my life and die in this horrid, white room. The only break in the smooth white walls was the doorway -  
Wait, the doorway?   
I pulled myself up using the chair, suddenly feeling much stronger than before. Looking down at myself with surprise, I quickly made my way across the room.   
There was a box with buttons to the side of the doorway, and I was about to press one of the buttons out of curiosity when the door hissed, clicked, and made an affirmative beep as it slid open.   
I froze.  
Then my instincts took over, and I ran out of the room as fast as possible.

.,.

The room I entered was even more sparse and white than the room I had just left. In the very center of the room, a circular table sat, surrounded by discarded and even toppled chairs. Papers were splayed across every inch of the table, except where there were mugs. I sniffed one of the cups curiosity, and my mouth watered at the rich smell. Without a second of hesitation, I downed the cup.   
It was cold, and bitter, but it felt so good on my parched throat, so picked up another one and drank it too.  
I blinked in surprise. This one was completely different, light and carmelly, though the rich taste of the other drink was still present. I looked at it with a confused frown before setting it down.   
“Hello?”   
I automatically whirled around, fists ready to fly if the new person wanted a fight. My heart thudded panickedly in my chest. What if it was them? What if they came back?   
I didn't even know who they were. But my instincts were screaming to fight or run.   
The girl in front of me quickly raised her hands in surrender.  
“Whoa there,” she said, hurriedly taking a step back. She ran her eyes over me, and they widened in pity.   
“I'm not going to hurt you,” she said quietly. Her brown eyes were soft and warm, comforting. It caught me off guard a little, and I stiffened. She tentatively reached out a hand.   
“I'm called Mira. Do you know what your name is?”   
I stared at her for a second, stunned into inaction.   
“Adam,” I finally said, and I winced a little at how hoarse and dry it sounded.   
“Ok. Do you know what happened to you, Adam?” She said. She kept her voice low, smooth, like I was a wild animal that could be startled at any moment.   
Or a flighty amnesiac teenager.   
“Just as much as you do,” I said flatly, letting my hands fall down to my side, and she blinked.   
“Oh.”   
Tension strung through the air, and I quickly snipped it by turning back to the table.   
“Maybe these can help?” I said, picking up a few of the papers.   
“It's worth a shot,” she conceded. We both sat down and began to sift through the papers. Minutes passed in silence.   
“You know what's weird?” I said, suddenly setting my papers down.   
“Hm?” Mira said, looking up.  
“It looks like whoever worked here left in a hurry. But nothing seems wrong. Why would they leave everything out like this if there wasn't something making them?”   
She frowned thoughtfully.   
“I don't know, maybe - ”   
The sound of a siren filled the room as muffled snarls rose up from the third door leading out of the room that I had elected to ignored.   
We looked at each other for a split second before shoving out of our chairs and racing towards the sound. 


	2. Realization, Revelations, and The Lab (Mira)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The barking is gone, Adam is unnaturally strong, Mira knows things that she doesn't know and there's a boy in the lab.

It took us a few minutes to pry the door open.   
In the end, it was Adam; Adam, wide-eyed-brown-skinned-frail-looking-beat-up Adam, who opened the door. He did it with seeming ease, and I watched him both apprehensively and curiously.   
Even though he looked like he'd been through hell about six times, he didn't appear to be in much, if any, pain. Where a normal person would be weeping on the ground, he stood proud and tall. His eyes glittered dangerously as he peeled back the solid steel door like it was a sardine can.   
We both stopped and looked at his hands.   
“I didn't know I could do that,” he said, but instead of sounding shocked or dumbfounded, he sounded like he was already thinking of what he could use them for. I stared at him blankly.   
I don't think I want to know who this guy is.   
When I had woken up in that white room, I'll admit that I began to panic. Wouldn't everyone? It didn't help that I didn't know my name, or have any memories. By the time the room opened, I was finally calming myself down.   
Until I had been confronted with the yawning unknown which called itself Adam.   
We slip into the room, quiet, cautious. The barking is gone, but the sirens are still going, sending floods of red light that are swallowed by the darkness of the room. Then there's the hum of electricity, and the lights flicker on, revealing the remains of a lab beneath the fluorescent fixtures.   
It looked completely trashed, great gouging claw marks scoring the metal walls, grimy lights sparking weakly, the remains of beakers smashed across the floor. It smelled faintly of urine and orange pulp, an unpleasant scent that made me gag. When I looked over at Adam, who was carefully making his way from the lightswitch over to me, I could see he was struggling to keep his lunch in his stomach as well.   
“What is this place?” He asked quietly.  
I didn't reply.   
Near the center of the room was a massive control board, jammed with numbers and letters and lights and switches. I ran a finger over the keys, then looked at my fingertip. There was no dust. It was used recently, then.  
There were three letters on the metal plaque at the top of the panel: C.A.I. No other information was offered.  
“What were they _doing_ here?” I murmured to myself.   
Adam looked up from where was cautiously nearing the mass covered in canvas that sat in front of the control panel.   
“Huh?” He asked.   
“C.A.I,” I said, repeating the letters.   
“Kai?” Adam said with a frown. “Why would they name something Kai?”  
I looked over at him, a battle between caution and curiosity warring in my mind.   
“Let's find out,” I said, gesturing to the canvas.   
He raised an eyebrow, an _are you sure?_  
I nodded.   
With one smooth motion, he yanked off the canvas. A blue glow emitted from the tank, momentarily blinding us, but when I blinked away the shine, everything clicked.  
C.A.I. Kai.   
Not something.   
Some one.   
Adam cursed, recoiling from the still form of the younger boy who floated in the tank. After he took a few seconds to breathe, he looked back at it in disbelief.   
“What did they do to him?” He asked, voice mixed parts confusion and horror.  
“Suspended animation,” I breathed out in awe. It was only a concept, of course, everyone knew we didn't have the right mixture for the liquid, since nothing held enough oxygen, but apparently someone had figured it out, because it stood in front of me, as real as the dark skinned boy across the room.   
“We should get him out,” Adam said, voice cracking a little. I looked over at him curiously, then dismissed it.  
“Possibly,” I said, biting my lip. I scanned the keyboard.   
Then my hands began to move and something beeped affirmatively before the liquid started to drain from the tank.   
“It'll feel like he's being born again,” I said sympathetically, watching the tank. Poor kid. He must be as scared as we were.   
“-How did you know how to do that?” Adam said. His face was glowing in the light of the tank, make him look almost ghostly. His expression was one of awe, but also one of suspicion. I blinked, looking down at my hands.   
“I-I don't know,” I said honestly. “I guess it's like how you could peel the door open?”   
He stared for a second.   
“Those things are nothing alike, but yea, sure, I get your point.”   
We both watched as the blue liquid was pumped out of the tank, and the still boy who floated within it.   
“-Is his hair red?” Adam asked, brow furrowed. I squinted a little.  
It was red, though looked a muddy purple through the container because of the blue liquid.   
“Yea, it is,” I confirmed. He took a step back at the same time I took a step forward.   
“This may not be safe,” he warned. I shrugged.  
“Well, too late now.”   
The front of the tank shuddered, hissed, then slid away, dropping the unconscious boy into the floor below. A pool of the liquid seeped towards us, seemingly with a mind of its own, and we both took a few quick steps back.   
The boy looked paler outside the tank, his red hair plastered to his forehead, wrists as thin as twigs, the hospital gown he was wearing clinging to his body, showing how immensely small and thin he was. I estimated that he was a few years younger than me, but even so, he looked scrawny for his age.   
Then with a great, shuddering breath, he woke up.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I think this chapter went rather well! I have no clue what I'm doing for Mira or Kai's powers (I'm actually kind of mixing them up a little I guess??) but that, my friends, is a problem for another chapter. 
> 
> Next chapter is Kai, and I'm sorry to say that it's not going to be very fun for him. But I hope it will be interesting! 
> 
> As for fics, check out EudociaCovert and their series Death's Other Kingdom! I've read it recently and highly suggest checking it out (even though they ended on a cliffhanger. Or, should I say bridgehanger?)!!! Great world building, mystery, plot, a bit of angst, and, of course, our favourite trio (though in a world that's almost darker than the one they left!). 
> 
> Kudos, comments; you know the drill. ;)
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Wires And Nerves (Kai)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A rude and horrifying awakening, technical difficulties, and a change of clothes.

I woke up to the feeling of drowning.  
Automatically, I curled in and gagged. Though my eyesight wasn't great - only half open and covered in some weird filmy substance - I could tell that the liquid that I had choked up and was completely soaked in was both electric blue and glowing.  
My arms buckled as I pushed myself into a sitting position, still spitting out the liquid that apparently coated my lungs. The floor was cold under my hands.  
When I finally looked up, shaking, I could see two people staring down at me. A girl, with blue streaks in her hair, stood closer to the consol. She must have been the one to get me out. The other one was a boy, with dark skin and brown hair, who despite looking beat up, was perfect. Both of them wore the white clothing that marked them as prisoners.  
There was a second of silence.  
“Welcome- to the- Hollow,” I finally said, still coughing up the blue liquid. I ran one hand self-consciously over my chest where I knew my lungs were. It came away slick. My voice was barely recognizable, barely me. I was barely me.  
My chest felt clogged, and warnings were flashing in front of my eyes, but I wasn't done with the introduction. I needed to finish the introduction.  
“Welcome to the Hollow,” I began again, wheezing by the time I reached the end of the sentence. “Please-”  
Blue goop spilled across the floor, reaching the shoes of the perfect looking boy. He looked at me with wide eyes. Oh no. No. No, no, no. “Enjoy-” my voice wavered, and I curled in on myself to make sure that he didn't get splashed. “Your - no, no. Is- can-”  
I sounded like a broken record, but I needed to finish it. I need to finish it! Otherwise they would-  
I felt myself slump, and watching from inside my own brain, I screamed.  
“Welcome to the Hollow,” They said, smoothing out all imperfections from my voice. My mouth peeled back in a grin. “We’re so glad you could make it.”  
The new people looked at me in horror, slowly backing off. Above me, the lights flickered, sending a flash of darkness into the room. I began to rock back in forth panickedly, before They took my spine and snapped it straight. I cried out, but They silenced me.  
There were too many voices in my mouth, all speaking in unison. They throbbed, pulsed, each beat a wave of pain. But I knew it wouldn't stop. Someone had to say the introduction, and it didn't matter to them how it happened.  
“The rules of the game is simple: Kill or be killed.” It ached, almost as much as the razor they used on my head, almost as much as the chip in my brain. The voices grated against each other like metal on metal. “Be ahead, or be beheaded.”  
They all started laughing, crowding out my mouth. Only my eyes were mine now, wide and fearful, begging. Please. Please. The people just watched, frightened. Frightened of me. This-this wasn't how it was supposed to be, I-  
Then they were gone, and I crumpled again, sobbing.  
“Are-are you ok?” A voice came out of the quiet.  
I looked up, tears and snot and goo all over my face, my hands, everything. I clung weakly to my knees. Any sense of dignity I had was thrown out the window.  
The boy was the one who had spoken. He had crouched down to my level, eyes filled with worry.  
It dawned on my that I hadn't seen an expression so kind as long as I could remember.  
Which… wasn't anything, I realized with a blooming sense of calm.  
“Do you know who you are?” The girl said, joining the boy in crouching next to me.  
I shook my head.  
“Do you remember your name?” She asked, slightly tense. I shook my head again. I don't think I ever had a name. Maybe, once, a long time ago. Not now.  
“You were called CAI on the equipment,” the boy added. “Does that sound familiar?”  
I paused. The barest traces of a memory, cold and grimy, drifted back to me.  
“Yeah,” I said. My voice sounded like a broken stereo, fuzzy and cracked, filled with static. “They called me Kai.”  
The boy shot the girl a _told you_ look before returning his gaze to me.  
“I'm called Adam,” he said, offering a hand. I took it weakly, and he gently pulled me up. I slid a little, feet struggling for purchase on the slippery floor. Adam helped me over to one of the stools that was still upright.  
“I'm Mira,” the girl said. Then she paused. “Kai, do you know what happened to you just now?”  
I shivered at the memory, the ghostly feeling of how They took over my body too fresh in my mind.  
“Them,” I said numbly.  
“Them?” Adam prompted. “Who's them?”  
I gestured vaguely with one hand, the other still clutching my chest. I coughed again.  
“They- in the thing in my brain,” I finished awkwardly. I pointed at the back of my head where I knew there was a scar.  
“Can you turn around so we can see it, Kai?” Mira asked, and I turned around slowly, trying not to fall off the stool. I felt soft, tentative fingers in my hair, and I purred a little at how good it felt. Which was embarrassing, because then Adam, still looking perfect, looked at me worriedly.  
“Did I hurt you?”  
“No,” I said, cheeks flushing. Mira raised an eyebrow at me but didn't say anything.  
Eventually, I knew they found the incision, because I felt Adam tense and Mira murmur some curse word sympathetically.  
“Those monsters,” Adam growled. I turned around, trying not to let my face go red.  
“Does it happen often?” Mira asked, eyes alight with curiosity.  
“I… I don't know.” My thoughts began to clear up, and it was like a veil had been lifted from my eyes. I felt myself perk up, and my mouth twisted in a tentative smile.  
“I bet I look like an anime character right now,” I said, the words coming unbidden from a space behind my mind.  
Mira and Adam just stared at me.  
“...no clue,” I said, shrugging.  
“We should probably get out of this place,” Mira said, deciding to ignore my words.  
“We should probably change, first,” I interrupted, gesturing at our clothing. “We’ll stick out like a sore, experimental thumb in these clothes.”  
They both conceded, watching as blue liquid dripping off of my suddenly-too-thin-to-be-comfortable hospital gown.  
“I… think I know where we can find clothes,” I said, surprised at my own knowledge. I stood up, wobbling a little before Mira grabbed my arm. I smiled thankfully at her.  
“This way,” I said, and I led them out of the lab.

.,.

A few minutes and a couple of wrong turns later, we had finally found a closet full of clothing.  
“It's almost like an inventory box for a game,” Mira said, holding up a pair of knee high leather boots next to a floppy news cap.  
“It is a bit weird they have such a variety of stuff,” Adam agreed, shaking out a pair of military trousers. He held them to his waist and turned to me. “You think these will fit?”  
I pursed my lips, pausing from my task of finding a pair of matching socks to fiddle with a multi-coloured Rubix cube. “Yea, I think so,” I finally said, and Adam nodded before folding them into a crisp, perfect square.  
“Whoa,” I said. “Dude, where did you learn how to do that?”  
He looked down at the sharply folded pile in his hands and shrugged before setting it down. “Same place you learned how to do that.”  
Blinking, I looked down to find a perfectly solved Rubix cube in my hands.  
“Fair point,” I said, setting it down. Across the room, Mira picked up a pair of fingerless gloves and was trying them on.  
“I wonder who's stuff it was?” She asked, pulling out a sleeveless jean jacket.  
“Maybe some of it was ours,” I said, pulling a pair of aviator goggles over my head. Their weight felt familiar and comfortable on my forehead.  
“I bet it's all confiscated,” Adam said, holding up a tool belt with a baffled expression on his face that told me he knew nothing about the tools in it. “So, Kai could be right.”  
I took the tool belt from his hands and tied it around my hips. Like the goggles, it clicked.  
Eventually, we all found what we wanted and took turns using the room to change, and even though I doubted that the clothing I chose had actually been mine, the thought still crept into my head:  
_It's good to be back._  
Eventually, we looked around at each other.  
“So,” Adam said.  
“Where do we start?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, Ao3 has shuffled up my end notes a bit and I'm... not entirely sure how to fix it. (Technical advice? Feel free to let me know through a comment!)  
> But! As promised, I hurt my children a little and set up some ~Spooky Mystery~ to figure out later.  
> I'm considering having next chapter be a "6 hours before" thing, revealing that they're in the game and helping set up the reason they offered themselves to test the game. Any opinions on that?  
> Thing thing I love about entering a fandom while it's still new is that I can see it growing day by day! Any suggestions for fics? Fanart I should see? Let me know!  
> Kudos, comments: always loved.  
> Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry I got so sloppy at the end there! I wasn't exactly sure how I wanted Mira and Adam to meet. :/ I'll try to be cleaner next chapter.
> 
> I do switch POV between the trio, so be warned. I will put the name of whoever she POV it is in the chapter, though, so hopefully that will clear up confusion. 
> 
> I do injure/beat up the children, because this is a teen story and realisticly they'd be beaten up all the time. I also amp up the angst a little, because who am I if I didn't?   
> Little to no fluff. Sorry folks, this is solid plot here. If you'd like fluff, go find fluff! I know that there's some nice fluffy fics fro this fandom out there. (I know because I read them. Watch out, fic writers, I may recommend you in the notes of later chapters! ;D)
> 
> And of course, please leave kudos or comments!! Feedback (good and bad) is always appreciated!!! And if you like it, leave a kudos or comment because then I might actually finish it. (I'm not bribing you guys into making me finish it, not at all... but really, please do. :D)
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
